The Premier Lacrosse League had its inaugural collegiate draft on April 23, 2019, and the show did not disappoint. Paul Rabil and the six coaches of the PLL teams graced the stage of NBCSports to deliver this first collegiate draft. Everyone knew how the current would start, but no one knew where things would go after that. This draft had a few surprises, predictable choices, and one burning question we all want to see the answer to. Will the players who were drafted even play in the PLL?
PLL Draft Order and Picks
The Archer’s LC picking Pat Spencer kicked off the inaugural PLL draft. This surprised no one, even though Spencer may not play lacrosse next year. Pat Spencer has been eyeing a chance to play collegiate basketball, and the change will likely not be there in the future, like the opportunity to play professional lacrosse. The draft went as follows:
PLL Draft Round 1
- Archers LC – Pat Spencer (A) Loyola
- Atlas LC – Ryan Conrad (M) Virginia
- Chrome LC – Zach Goodrich (M) Towson
- Whipsnakes LC – Alex Woodall (FO) Towson
- Redwoods LC – Clarke Peterson (A) Cornell
- Chaos LC – Johnny Surdick (D) Army
PLL Draft Round 2:
- Chaos LC – Jack Rowlett (D) UNC
- Redwoods LC – Tyler Dunn (M) Penn
- Whipsnakes LC – Brad Smith (M) Duke
- Chrome LC – Chris Sabia (D) Penn State
- Atlas LC – Cade Van Raaphorst (D) Duke
- Archers LC – Curtis Corley (D) Maryland
PLL Draft Round 3:
- Archers LC – Colton Jackson (M) Denver
- Atlas LC – Noah Richard (D) Marquette
- Chrome LC – Max Tuttle (M) Sacred Heart
- Whipsnakes LC – Issac Paparo (D) UMass
- Redwoods LC – Brendan Gleason (A) Notre Dame
- Chaos LC – Greyson Torain (M) Navy
PLL Draft Round 4:
- Chaos LC – Austin Henningsen (FO) Maryland
- Redwoods LC – Tim Troutner (G) Highpoint
- Whipsnakes LC – John Daniggelis (M) Yale
- Chrome LC – Connor Farrell (FO) LIU Post
- Atlas LC – Brent Noseworthy (M) Michigan
- Archers LC – John Prendergast (M) Duke
PLL Draft Analysis
The first thing that jumps out from this draft is the lack of true attackmen taken in the PLL Draft. This isn’t a cause for concern because the league has plenty of talented attckmen, and teams will likely cycle midfielders and attackmen around. The Redwoods really beefed up their offense in this draft though, and Coach Nat St. Laurent will look to pair Peterson, Dunn, and Gleason with an already fierce Redwoods offense.
Another huge standout is stud Connor Farrell being the only non-Division 1 lacrosse player to be drafted into the PLL. But can you blame the Chrome LC for taking him? Farrell is facing off at 84% for LIU Post during a 10-3 season. He is a strong 240 lbs and looking like he will fit in very nicely with the Chrome LC.
One really wise pick this draft was the Chaos LC taking Army defenseman Johnny Surdick. This man straight up takes souls from ball-carriers. You may recognize him from a recent highlight of him hitting Pat Spencer with a yard sale. But besides a 5-second clip of a very well-timed check, Surdick has been dominating his entire time at Army. He has also consistently gotten better and is now captaining the team. Expect Surdick and the rest of the Chaos to really lay the hammer down next year.
Lastly, there was only one keeper taken in the entire draft. The only goalie taken in the draft was Tim Troutner from High Point. The Redwoods LC decided to take a chance on him during the last round of the draft. He will possibly join two superstar keepers, Gunnar Waldt and Jack Kelly, on the Redwoods LC next season. He may feel a little lonely during this draft, but there will be goalies galore in the PLL.
PLL Draft Problem
The only issue coming out of the PLL draft is that the players aren’t guaranteed to play in the PLL. Most sports fans know that drafting a player in any league then only gives you exclusive rights to that player respective to the league in which they were drafted, but we now have 2 professional field lacrosse leagues. This plot thickens when we realize that 22 of the 24 players drafted on the 23rd of April were also drafted last month by MLL teams. All players must wait until their season ends to decide if they want to sign with a PLL team or they will waive their NCAA eligibility for the rest of the season. Once the Memorial Day National Championship Tournament ends, we will actually get to see who is going where; but, for now, we must just wait and watch.
Read Next: What if the PLL and MLL Merged?
